Back on the bike

This is what I thought as I took my first few tentative pedals on Saturday morning. The back
wheel of my bike was shaking and wobbling all over the place. There was something wrong with
it.

Is it a flat? It feels like it’s flat. %#&$#!

A flat would have really sucked, as this was my first ride since “the incident” on Nov. 3, and
the last thing I felt like doing was fixing a flat 12 seconds into the ride.

Plus, my saddle bag – and all my flat-fixing tools – is still attached to the bike that got
broken up in the incident and is being held as evidence by the police.

Hey John, Jeff … is my back wheel OK? Is it flat? Do you guys have a spare tube?

Turns out my back wheel was just fine; I was the one shaking and wobbling.

But I did it … my first ride, with the help of my friends John Looker and Jeff Pierron, who
served as my personal escorts and protectors, and, if needed … flat-tire fixers!

We rode 12 miles, mostly along the Olentangy multi-use path … and it went really well, other
than the whole unexpected and near-freezing downpour and hailstorm. After a mile or two, I stopped
shaking and wobbling, and didn’t have as many problems as I thought I’d have with my balance or my
clips.

It felt normal and natural as muscle memory and the joy of riding kicked in.

“I’ve never ridden in hail before … it hurts,” John said midway through the storm.

This was also my first hail experience and those darn, pea-sized pellets really did hurt when
they sneakily found their way through the vents in our helmets and smacked us on the skull like
hundreds of little ball-pean hammers.

“It’s 44 degrees,” Jeff said at one point, and it felt even colder.

“My feet are numb,” John said.

So were mine … and I think I may have suffered a mild case of hypothermia.

So, in other words: it was a bike ride! And we had to contend with Mother Nature and everything
she could and did throw at us … and kept on riding.

Oh, how I’ve missed riding: the camaraderie of riding with friends, the physical challenges and
exercise (let’s just say my bike shorts barely fit), exploring central Ohio and beyond, and that
endorphin rush of a feeling of becoming one with my bike as we push on, further and faster and
higher.

I’d like to say that everything is now back to normal and I’ll be able to resume riding as if
nothing had happened.

Nope, not yet … and probably not for a while.

Physically, I’m still in recovery mode. I’m shocked by how long it’s taking, but I guess when so
many different body parts are broken and bruised it’s not really that surprising. I don’t know how
(or why) Evel Knielvel did it.

I needed a two-hour nap after our ride and my back and neck were more stiff and sore than usual
on Sunday.

And my head hurt from the hail.

Mentally, I’m still reluctant, hesitant and scared to just go out on my own for a ride or to
commute to work. I’m OK on the bike paths, but not ready yet to ride on the roads and have cars
whiz by me. I never used to worry … now I do.

Is the person in that car paying attention? Are they texting? Drunk? Do they have it in for
cyclists?

Jeff and John and several others have kindly volunteered to escort me on rides over the next few
months. My second ride will be the Ride of Silence on Wednesday evening. It’s 10 or so miles along
the roads of downtown Columbus, so hopefully this will help get me over that mental hurdle.

I’ll see you there … unless there’s another hailstorm!

And thanks everyone for all your well wishes and kind words the past several months. Be safe.
And please everyone, be nice to cyclists.